Iztok Golobič1, Henrik Gjerkeš1, Jože Malenšek2
1Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Ljubljana,
Aškerčeva 6, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
2KRKA d.d. Pharmaceutical Industry, Novo mesto, Slovenia
ABSTRACT
Based on measurements of either oxygen concentration in exhaust gas
or reaction heat flow, the specific growth rate and biomass concentration
during the fermentation of the bacitracin in the 80 m3 industrial batch
bioreactor were determined in real time. Used one-parametric linear recursive
least squares model with time-varying forgetting factor follows well the
non-linear and, in certain phases of the production, very dynamic process
of fermentation, and enables simulation of disturbances in industrial process.
Estimated parameters agree well with the measurements, acquired off-line,
and represent useful new information, which enable better monitoring of
the industrial process.